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Charlie Hustle is still out. Baseball's hit king Pete Rose got an early Christmas present from MLB commissioner Rob Manfred, and it wasn't what Rose had on his wish list.

The following piece was originally published in the March, 1958 issue of True, and is excerpted from The Top of His Game, a collection of W.C. Heinz's best sportswriting. It is reprinted here with permission from Gayl Heinz. "Down in Los Angeles," says Garry Schumacher, who was a New York baseball writer for 30 years and is now assistant to Horace Stoneham, president of the San Francisco Giants, "they think Duke Snider is the best center fielder the Dodgers ever had. They forget Pete Reiser. The Yankees think Mickey Mantle is something new. They forget Reiser, too." Maybe Pete Reiser...

"You're always in need of left-handed pitching, left-handed hitting, and in need of speed," he said. "I think that's the number one thing that's missing, I think, in the game is speed. You know, with the need for minorities, you can help yourself — you've got a better chance of getting some speed with Latin and African-Americans. "I'm not being racist," he added. "That's just how it is."

But in perhaps the game’s starkest good-news-bad-news case, only once did a single pitcher complete a nine-inning game without yielding a hit and still manage to lose it. The man who owns that two-faced distinction, Ken Johnson, whose otherwise middling 13-year career in the major leagues included stints with seven teams, died on Saturday in Pineville, La. He was 82.

Ruth A. Hartman, an accomplished local sheep breeder known locally and nationally as an original member of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, has died in Reading Hospital of injuries suffered over the weekend after her SUV struck a deer in Oley Township. - See more at: http://www.readingeagle.com/news/article/champion-sheep-breeder-from-limekiln-remains-critical-after-weekend-accident#sthash.ih8zyVSB.dpuf

National League C Yadier Molina, Cardinals 1B Paul Goldschmidt, Diamondbacks 2B Dee Gordon, Marlins 3B Nolan Arenado, Rockies SS Brandon Crawford, Giants LF Starling Marte, Pirates CF A.J. Pollock, Diamondbacks RF Jason Heyward, Cardinals P Zack Greinke, Dodgers American League C Salvador Perez, Royals 1B Eric Hosmer, Royals 2B Jose Altuve, Astros 3B Manny Machado, Orioles SS Alcides Escobar, Royals LF Yoenis Cespedes, Tigers/Mets CF Kevin Kiermaier, Rays RF Kole Calhoun, Angels P Dallas Keuchel, Astros

MAUI (HawaiiNewsNow) - Major League Baseball player Jose Reyes, the shortstop for the Colorado Rockies, was arrested on Halloween after allegedly assaulting his wife in their Maui hotel room, sources say. Reyes and his wife, Katherine, were allegedly arguing in their Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea room that afternoon. His wife told responding officers that Reyes grabbed her off the bed and shoved her. Sources say she also told police that he grabbed her throat and shoved her into the sliding glass balcony door. Security called police and Reyes was arrested for abuse of a family or household member....

ATLANTA — Channel 2 Action news has learned former Altanta Braves pitcher Tommy Hanson, 29, has died. Multiple sources told Channel 2 Sports Director Zach Klein earlier in the day Monday that Hanson was in a coma after being moved to Atlanta’s Piedmont Hospital late Monday morning due to catastrophic organ failure. Hanson was moved to Piedmont so doctors could run a variety of tests to determine why his organs failed. The source said Hanson's problems started early Sunday morning and Hanson was then rushed to a nearby hospital after he started having trouble breathing.

Six-time MLB all-star Lance Berkman used to be a star on a field, but a starring role in an advertisement against a recently failed Houston equality referendum has some in the city wishing he’d fade away. In the ad, which took a stand against the Houston equal-rights ordinance (HERO), the former Houston Astros and Texas Rangers player urged everyone to “vote no” because it would allow “troubled men” to use women’s bathrooms. (snip) The fight for Berkman, however, seems to only have just begun. After the ordinance failed, Berkman doubled down on his comments and said he wasn’t just worried...

Dodgers starter Zack Greinke opted out of his contract to become arguably the top free-agent pitcher on the market Wednesday. Greinke, 32, figures to command a significant raise from the $23 million he made last year. He went 19-3 with a major-league leading 1.66 earned-run average and a 0.84 WHIP, making him a favorite for the National League Cy Young Award.

Outfielder Jonny Gomes gave quite a speech during Tuesday’s World Series celebration for the Kansas City Royals, who defeated the New York Mets four games to one on Sunday.

Hoping for your help in finding the source of a line from a song. I've Googled, and otherwise searched to no success. Am looking for the title of the song. The lyric below, is a baseball reference, and it may not be exact, but it is very close... "Hitch up your britches, take one of those pitches, and 'bam' it's over the fence".

Royals 7 Mets 2 in 12 innings

I waited for Mr. Ward. The HAS to be a World Series thread on this forum. Read tweece for typos.

GO Royals!!

From ESPN:METS RETRACING THEIR STEPS FROM 1986 Here's a crazy statistical anomaly that just might give you chills: Through the first three games of this year's World Series, New York's results have mirrored the first three games of the team's 1986 World Series run. Game 1, 1986 lost by 1, 2915 lost by 1 Game 2, 1986 lost by 6, 2015 lost by 6Game 3, 1986 won by six, 2015 won by six It's Halloween, it's spooky, and we have a Series.

Lawrence Peter Berra—you know him better as Yogi—died a month ago. Berra was a devout Catholic, who also happened to be a brilliant baseball player and one of America’s most lovable wits. We pray for the repose of his soul, but this column is not about Yogi Berra. Nor is it about the hapless Chicago Cubs, who for the 107th year in a row will have to once again “wait until next year.” It is about baseball, which is on the mind of any sports fan in the country in October, the glorious month of the postseason and the World...

Apparently someone reminded the Mets that they are supposed to be playing in the World Series. This was pretty close to a "must win" and they did it.

Game 3 from New York City

Miami Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria, who has cycled through eight "permanent" managers and two interim managers since buying the team in 2002, on Thursday landed the man he targeted in his latest skipper search: former New York Yankees star Don Mattingly, sources said. Mattingly, as expected, agreed to a four-year contract to replace Dan Jennings, who was reassigned to the front office but instructed not to return to work until he has more conversations with Loria. Mattingly, 54, and the Dodgers parted ways recently after he led the team to three consecutive National League West titles but no World Series...