Baseball #23

August 8, 2012  

Daniel Gould to Jim Driscoll  

Hi JD;
 
Interesting story. At university, I indirectly got to follow the Blackhawks and that began in 1961. My roommate was Bob, the ON GOD Bob, and he would try to tune in WGN, a 50,000 watt Chicago station which carried the Blackhawks, to follow the games. That worked out very well since I only fiddled with the radio---aside from music and news---during the spring and fall. At the time, I would be the one fiddling with the radio to pick of WJR, another 50,000 watt station, to listen to the Tigers night ball games. And as I recall, it was in 1961 that the Bengals came in second to the Yankees and well into September had a chance to over take them...Didn't happen though. THe Cardinals saved me from the Tigers...And I was rewarded in 1964 when they won the pennant and the World Series defeating the evil Yankees in seven games...the Yankees got even though...The very next day they announced that they had signed the Cardinal manager, Johnny Keane(?) , to manage the pin-strippers for the next season....St. Louisians went ballistic...Kid you not!
 
Castro up-date: He is 2 for 24 in his past six games. He said, "It's very tough. It's going to be gone tomorrow, hopefully. This kind of thing never happened to me. I don't feel good about it. I don't know what happened. I was aggressive at home plate." Hey, kid, welcome to the big league...But I like his attitude towards his current predicament. It shows his arrogance has a positive side.
 
Sincerely;
 
Dan  

 

August 8, 2012  

Jim Driscoll to Daniel Gould  

ALL THE GOOD HITTERS GO THROUGH A SLUMP LIKE THIS. HE'LL COME OUT OF
IT, ALTHOUGH I'M AFRAID A
.300 BATTING AVG FOR THE SEASON IS NOW A DREAM...................JD  

 

August 27, 2012  

Daniel Gould to Jim Driscoll  

Hi JD;
 
Last night I went to see "Hit and Run." Had I seen the coming attraction before hand I probably would have avoided it. It is a car chase film and while I like car chases it does get boring if that's all there is...Anyway, I checked with Roger Ebert and he had given it three and one half stars. Well, the one half star was pushing it, but it was a fun picture and basically a romantic comedy with several twist.
 
This I found interesting at the NYTimes web-site today: The Cubs are 25 games out of 1st place [hey, tell me about it]  but they are 10th in attendance in the major leagues whereas the Chi White Sox are 70-55 and rank 24th in attendance...Looks like I'm not the only one who loves a loser. For some reason the White Sox just can't get attention. Even in 1959, when I was still rooting for the AMerican League team in the World Series, I was ambivalent towards the Soxs even though I did like Nellie Fox and Luis Aparichio.
 
I am anxiously awaiting the College Basketball season...Only ten weeks or so to kick off. Kick off? Huh? Well I do get a kick from following it.
 
Sincerely;
 
Dan  

 

August 27, 2012  

Jim Driscoll to Daniel Gould  

NELLIE AND "LITTLE LUIS" ....ahh....brings back memories at Briggs /
Tiger Stadium !!
Cubs stink...again, but I'm glad they have a following. I 've seen but
2 games there....both memorable.
How 'bout Minnie Minoso, Jim Reese, Sherm Lollar ???

And now, BB fan, your BB quiz....to see if you REALLY know your BB.

20 pts each....PASSING: 80%

1) Explain the infield fly rule, and what it was meant to prevent.
 
2) Bases loaded, one out. Batter hits a ball to deep CF, but fielder
goes back and camps under it. But then drops the easy catch!! 2 runners
score and now there are runners on 2B &3B.
 
You are scorekeeper. How do you score this play in the
score-book? What does the batter record? Any RBI's ?
Explain your decision briefly.
 
3) Batter up with bases loaded, 1 out. He slams a HR deep over RF
fence. But...runner on 1st watches ball too long, and hitter
accidentally passes him on the base path, between 1B & 2B. You're the
ump. Call the play.
 
4) On a drive to deep RF, fielder loses ball in the sun. Ball hits
him on top of head, on the warning track, and incredibly bounces over
the fence !!
You're the ump. Call the play.
 
5) In the top of the 8th, visiting team comes to bat with home team
winning, 9 - 5. But visitors score 7 runs, and are still hitting when
torrential rains fall down. Eventually, the came is called after 3 hours of
downpour. What is the ultimate outcome of the game ??
 
 
GOOD LUCK......PS: THESE ARE NOT DIFFICULT...YOU SHOULD EASILY
PASS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.............................JD

 

August 28, 2012  

Daniel Gould to Jim Driscoll  

 

Hi JD;
  
Minnie Minoso? Didn't he play---at the end of his career---with the
Tigers? I remember him as someone who hugged the plate which resulted
in his leading the league in walks.
  
The quiz:
  
#1. As I recall the infield fly rule is meant to prevent double plays
by a fielder who drops or ignores the ball only to pick it up, step on
second and throw to first.
  
#2. It's an error but the batter is credited with two rbis.
  
#3. NO grand slam...but three rbis and first base runner is called out.
  
#4. Ground rule double.
  
#5. The team that is down 9-5 loses because they did NOT complete the
eight inning.
  
Hmmmm....Did I pass the audition?
  
...And the Angels are fadings...As you predicted in a general
sort-of-the-way at the beginning od the season...How'd ya know? ESP?
  
Sincerely;
  
Dan  

 

August 28, 2012  

Jim Driscoll to Daniel Gould  

MINNIE MINOSO DID HUG THE PLATE, BUT IT DIDN'T NECESSARILY GET HIM
EXTRA WALKS......ONLY HIT-BY-PITCHES!
 
I'M NOT SURE IF HE EVER CAME TO THE TIGERS. MY BROTHER WOULD KNOW.
 
=========================================
 
BB QUIZ: 40%
 
1) BASICALLY CORRECT. A BETTER ANSWER W/B: WITH 1ST & SECOND, OR
BASES LOADED AND LESS THAN 2 OUTS, A POP-UP DEEMED CATCH-ABLE BY THE
UMP WILL BE RULED AN AUTOMATIC OUT . RUNNERS ADVANCE AT THEIR OWN RISK.
AND YES, IT IS TO PREVENT SNEAKY DOUBLE -PLAYS,
AS YOU DESCRIBED....
 
2) YES...IT IS AN ERROR, BUT YOU NEGLECTED TO SAY THAT THE HITTER W/B
CREDITED WITH A SAC FLY....AND ONE RBI. ACTUALLY IT'S A
2-BASE, 2-RUN ERROR...
 
3) NO.....I BELIEVE THE RUNS THAT SCORE PRIOR TO THE BLUNDER WOULD
COUNT. BUT IT WOULD ONLY BE AN OFFICIAL SINGLE FOR THE BATTER,
THUS HE WOULD NOT SCORE, SO THERE COULD NOT BE 3 RBI's ON THE
PLAY. (This actually happened in games more than once. The most
notable was at the end of Harvey Haddix's 12 inning "perfect game"
...and once in the American League play-offs....
 
4) NO...IT'S A HR, AS THE BALL DID NOT HIT THE GROUND BEFORE CLEARING
THE FENCE. AGAIN, THIS HAPPENED TO THE A'S CONSECO OUT IN RF
ONCE...AS SEEN ON MANY BLOOPER SHOWS..................
 
5) CORRECT.
 
 
WELL...OLD MAN...BACK TO THE RULE BOOKS FOR
YOU!!!!!!!!!.....................BUT I'M NOT SURPRISED, COMING FROM A
CUBS FAN............!!!

 

Photo: Minnie Minoso

 

 

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