Posted on 07/24/2005 4:54:14 PM PDT by ken5050
OK, all you Freeper baseball afficionados. It's early Sunday evening..it was a hell of a week for the national pastime, and I wanted to get our weekly thread up and running...I won't have a chance late tonight, early tomorrow, and there is much to talk about..
As a St. Louis native named Yogi Berra once said, "It ain't over till its over".
Tommy Davis won a couple of batting titles before he broke his leg, and he was never quite the same hitter afterward. He would have been a great one. Boy, Al Kaline, there was one smooth player. What a gun in rightfield -- when I first started following baseball, the Tigers outfield was Kaline, Harvey Kuenn and Charlie Maxwell. As for Frank Robinson -- phew, with a game on the line, no one I would less rather face. If that guy ever made a mistake on the field, I never saw it.
In 1987 I went to the hottest game at St. Louis, approx 105, and the coldest, approx 40. Nonetheless, I saw them clinch the pennant. Well worth the pain and suffering.
They don't make many like Stan. I got his autograph when I was a little kid, and still cherish it today. His teammates loved him too. I recall Julian Javier naming his son (a future major leaguer himself) after Stan. Another great Card from Stan's later days was Ken Boyer. Ken was just a step below Eddie Mathews as the best third sacker of his time. He (like Eddie) died way too young.
The coldest I've been to was opening day 1997 when Willie won the game with his home run in the bottom of the 9th against the Expos.
My daughter went to the game yesterday. Lucky for her, her seats were in the shade.
I wouldn't recommend it though.
It's over.
I grew up in SW MO. near Joplin. Boyer was from Alba (about 8 mile north of where I lived). There were 13 kids in the family, and Ken was the best. Cloyd was a good guy, but Cletus was a drunk (both played for the Yankees). Lenny and Ronnie were 1 and 2 yrs older than me. They both had ego's that never fit their ability. Both were drafted out of high school, blew the sign up money on flashy cars and never made it into AAA. But Kenny was a gem and a gentleman. I have many stories about the Boyers in my past history.
I took my wife and young daughter to a game on the 4th of July I think in either '78 or '79. We had seats 3 rows off the field right beside the visitors dugout. A guy in the first row had a big jug of lemonaide and the 3rd base ump would come over between innings and drink the lemonaide. It was the hottest game I've been to. People were dropping like flies. Sometimes STL in July and Aug can be brutal.
I went on Thurs and our seats were in the shade. It was hot, but not like today.
Going into July 25 now, out of the 30 teams, 22 teams are within five-and-a-half games of a playoff berth!!!
The only teams really out of it are, in the AL, Seattle, Kansas City, and Tampa, and in the NL, Milwaukee, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, San Fran, and Colorado.
The only teams really assured of a playoff berth are the White Sox and the Cardinals. That leaves 20 teams with an unsure chance!
And so much for Schilling's insinuations that Pedro was a bad teammate. It's apparent that all the Mets just love him -- I haven't seen seen one negative thing written this year about the so-called Dominican Diva!
You can add Texas to that list.
Texas is only four-and-a-half games out of a wild card spot!
Yeah, but they are losing Rogers for 20 games. Stick a fork in 'em.
Plus Hicks is too cheap to make any personnel moves anyway.
Or Chan Ho Mrun.
Saw him hit several at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn where I grew up...a lonely Cardinals' fan in the wilderness. Remember listening on the radio when he hit 5 HRs in a doubleheader. Also still have his autograph.
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