Free Republic

Gaylord Perry, a Hall of Fame pitcher who won two Cy Young Awards over the course of his 22-year career, died Thursday at his home in South Carolina. He was 84. Cherokee County Coroner Dennis Fowler said Perry died in Gaffney at around 5 a.m. local time of natural causes. He did not provide any more details around his death.

On July 20, 1969, most Americans were consumed by the event of a lifetime: the Apollo 11 lunar landing. The Giants were no different. Giants groundskeeper Matty Schwab found space in his work area underneath the right-field grandstand at San Francisco’s Candlestick Park to plug in a black-and-white television set. Schwab’s hidden headquarters was close to the double doors adjacent to the Giants’ bullpen. So, thanks to Schwab, Giants relievers could sneak peeks at history during the early innings of San Francisco’s game against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Right-hander Bob Bolin was among the Giants with divided attention. As he...

Lots of people look upon baseball's last several seasons and are not amused. Not everyone enjoys a ball game turned into a batting practise scrimmage. It's not that baseball doesn't have other problems to fix - like salary inflation, revenue sharing, and a division alignment that's all but cut the legs out from under the pennant races. But you could solve all those problems this minute and still have a game distorted by the idea that no one cares about anything but relentless offence. Real baseball fans - those who savour the noble game, not those who can't stand the...