Cleveland Indians Quiz (1901-2003): 1) When was their last
Series title? 2) Who are the only two to win the MVP award? 3)
Who is the only Cy Young winner? [Reminder: This award was
first given in 1956.] 4) Who was the last 20-game winner? 5)
What two drove in over 160 runs in a single season? 6) Who am
I? I threw a no-hitter in 1966 and my initials are S.S. …I threw
a no-hitter in 1974 and my initials are D.B. 7) Name the three
franchise 200-game winners. Answers below.
D-Day, Part I
In honor of the upcoming 60th anniversary of the event that
helped save the world, I will have some tidbits the next few
chats. Today, an excerpt from an introduction Tom Hanks wrote
for a special Time magazine commemorative issue. [Available
at newsstands, it’s super.]
“Imagine if D-Day had been a catastrophic failure for the Allies.
Say that on June 6, 1944, American soldiers had failed to take
the bluffs at Omaha Beach, stranding them in nothing less than a
killing field. Allied landing craft, the very same boats that had
deposited the soldiers at dawn, would have had to make their
way ashore once again to evacuate those who survived the
murderous fire from the enemy. The Nazi war machine,
including Ost Battalion troops from nations long since
swallowed up by Adof Hitler’s Third Reich, would have
successfully repelled the invaders along that critical stretch of
northern France.
“Then, imagine the Americans at Utah Beach having no other
force to join. The German army, having defeated the Americans
once already, would have had more troops and more incentive to
wage battle. What would have happened to the Allied plan to cut
off the Cotentin Peninsula from Nazi-occupied France and make
the city of Cherbourg a secure port and the main artery for
incoming Allied forces and materiel?
“Say, too, that the British forces at beaches code-named Gold
and Sword had been surprised not only by severe seas and a tide
that rose too high, too fast but also by the Luftwaffe. Imagine if
the sky had been stacked with enemy aircraft attacking the
landing force, refueling, rearming and attacking again. What if
the German forces being held in reserve to take on what was
thought to be the main invasion point, at Calais, had instead been
moved forward to attack and ensnare the British Tommies within
yards of the Normandy coastline?
“What if the Canadians, after landing at Juno Beach, had been
the only Allied force to penetrate the French countryside? They
would still have found themselves in the Bocage, the French
farmland quilted with hedgerows taller and deeper than expected,
natural barriers so dense as to be practically impenetrable. With
an invasion force only one-fifth the size planned in Operation
Overlord, how long would it have been before Hitler’s ‘Fortress
Europe’ proved itself unconquerable or, at the least, safe from
invasion on that long day?….
“What if D-Day had failed? In fact, it nearly did. The success of
Operation Overlord came despite a myriad of mistakes and
unworkable plans. Landings were made miles off target; tanks
that were supposed to be amphibious sank to the bottom of the
English Channel, killing their crews before they could fire a shot.
Much of the air support the invading forces were told would
soften up their landing areas did more damage to cow pastures
than to enemy positions. Many of the paratroopers had their
weapons and gear stripped off their bodies by the force of their
jumps and landed nowhere near their targets….
“And yet the invasion – the largest and most complicated in the
history of the world – was a success.”
Stuff
–Voices of Mel Blanc (1908-89)…just a few of them…
Woody Woodpecker, Daffy Duck, Foghorn Leghorn, Sylvester
Pussycat, Bugs Bunny, Porky the Pig, Pancho, Sad Sack, Speedy
Gonzales, Pepe LePew, Marvin the Martian, The Road Runner,
Barney Rubble, Dino, The Tasmanian Devil
–Watch the ‘Shrooms!
I didn’t know this…the study of mushrooms is mycology.
Actually, that’s the study of fungi, but anyway…
9,000 people a year become ill eating the wrong wild
mushrooms. Heck, it isn’t easy picking the good from the bad
with over 100,000 species in existence. But from my High Plains
Journal I learned the tale of the “magic mushroom,” which some
of you will identify with. Eat one of these and you can come
down with psilocybin-psilocyn poisoning. This leads to severe
hallucinations, with symptoms beginning within 30 minutes to an
hour after ingesting the mushrooms.
“Uncontrollable laughter and extreme happiness may occur, but
anxiety and compulsive movements are also possible.”
Then there is amanitin. The North American Mycological
Society says the fatality rate for this poisoning is about 50
percent.
“Symptoms can begin within six to 24 hours after ingestion.
During the first stage, toxins destroy the kidney and liver while
showing no obvious symptoms. Violent vomiting, severe
abdominal cramps and diarrhea occur during the second stage.
[This would be the obvious part, I imagine.] The third stage is
about a 24-hour recovery period. And the final stage is relapse
with the liver and kidneys almost failing.”
So next time you’re thinking of picking wild mushrooms, boys
and girls, always bring along a mycologist. I’m sure you can
find one in the yellow pages.
–May 1904, physicist James Dewar sees his 1892 invention
finally go on sale commercially. Once called the vacuum flask, it
is renamed the thermos.
However…James Dewar has nothing to do with the history of
Dewar’s Scotch Whiskey. That was John Dewar and the
origins of this adult beverage go back to 1846.
–May 24, 1844…Samuel F.B. Morse transmits the first message
across his electric telegraph line from D.C. to Baltimore.
“Check out the traffic on I-95!”
[Err, not really. He banged out “What hath God wrought” from
the U.S. Supreme Court to Alfred Vail.]
–I didn’t realize that while I was away a few weeks back that Joe
Paterno was handed a four-year extension. He would be 81
when it expires, but I’m assuming this coming season is still his
last. Geezuz, I hope it is for the sake of the Nittany Lion fans.
–Ah, there are still good people out there. I saw in the Times
that Reds reliever Danny Graves lost his wallet on a bus in San
Diego, but the fellow cleaning it mailed the wallet back to
Graves with his credit cards and $1,400 in cash.
Now Mr. Graves is having himself a rather productive first third
of the season. He has closed out 80% of the Reds’ wins thus
far, saving 20 of the team’s 25 victories. The all-time record
is 70.3% from 1993 when Florida’s Bryan Harvey saved 45 of 64.
–Speaking of the Reds, it’s good to see pitcher Paul Wilson, 6-0,
off to such a great start. This guy at one time had so much
potential, but injuries set him back years and he has little of the
stuff he had when he first came up to the majors, yet Wilson has
persevered.
–It wasn’t a bad Saturday night for sports viewing. [Yeah, no
hot date for the kid…couldn’t get any of the Singapore girls to
move to New Jersey, in other words.]
First, we had the resurgent New York Mets beating the Colorado
Rockies in dramatic fashion, 5-4. But I only bring this up
because I learned the following about Colorado. Thanks to their
super home-field advantage, the Rockies are 487-393 at home
but just 344-537 on the road. And then you have Vinny Castilla,
the average third baseman who has returned to the scene of his
spectacular, Coors Field induced, success of the 90s. Castilla is
hitting .386 at home this year, .254 on the road.
During the Mets game I flipped on the last 10 minutes of Game 7
of the Flyers – Tampa Bay Lightning series. I have to admit that
was more hockey than I watched all season. Just can’t get into
the sport like I used to, mainly because my team, the New York
Rangers, sucks…and has for years. Anyway, Philadelphia didn’t
do squat at the end and they go home to golf.
Lastly, we had Game One of the Pacers – Pistons series and there
was the most irritating player in the history of the sport, Reggie
Miller, draining the crucial ‘3’ for Indiana.
Actually, at the end of the evening I was wishing I was back in
Singapore, or flirting with the bar maids in Shanghai.
–The Mets won again on Sunday to reach .500! Let’s Go Mets!
Tom Glavine had a masterful one-hitter, the first of his career,
but if you’re a casual baseball fan, just think of the fact that the
Mets franchise has never had a no-no…not Seaver, Koosman,
Ryan, Matlack, Fernandez, Darling, Cone or Gooden. Yeah, not
even John Pacella. [Sorry, don’t know how he made this
column.] Granted, many of the above had no-nos elsewhere.
–Here’s a baseball tidbit for you, courtesy of Johnny Mac. The
first team to have four players with 100 RBI in the same season
was the 1922 St. Louis Browns. However, even though they
scored over 100 runs more than the Yankees that season, St.
Louis still finished a game behind them.
The Brownies were led by…
George Sisler…134 runs, 246 hits, 42 2B, 18 3B, 8 HR, 105 RBI
…and a .420 batting average! And what’s this? 51 stolen bases!
Marty McManus…11 HR 109 RBI
Baby Doll Jacobson…9 HR 102 RBI
Ken Williams…39 HR 155 RBI
Next week, the first N.L. team to accomplish the feat.
–On Saturday I stumbled on a track meet and remember Alan
Webb, the kid who a few years ago beat Jim Ryun’s high school
mile record? Webb has been a huge disappointment ever since
but he captured the 1,500 on Saturday and has finally qualified
for the U.S. Olympic trials. This certainly spices up that event.
At the same meet, Marion Jones took the 100m and long jump
and sometime soon she will be meeting with officials from the
U.S. Anti-Doping Agency to learn what they have on her, as well
as boyfriend sprinter Tim Montgomery. You all saw that sprinter
Kelli White, when presented with the evidence, was forced to
accept a 2-year ban and forfeit her medals and prize money going
back to late 2000, a huge penalty. But the proof was there and if
she had fought it and lost, she could have been banned for a
minimum of 4 years. At 29, White thus still has a chance to
resurrect her career once the suspension is lifted. However, now
White will talk.
A lot of the movement on the steroid front wouldn’t have
happened without the influence of Senator John McCain, by the
way. McCain is in charge of the Senate Commerce Committee
and it was he that insisted on subpoenaing key documents in the
BALCO investigation. It was time to level the playing field, he
said, adding “We have to come clean, tell the truth.”
–The New York Times’ Ray Glier pointed out that in no other
time in baseball history have three 40-year-olds performed at
such a high level as Randy Johnson, Barry Bonds and Roger
Clemens (41) currently are. No one should think this is a new
trend, however. These three are unique.
–But isn’t it great to see Bonds struggling with his balky back?
I’m even more convinced that sometime this season he will say
2005 is his last go of it. At 668 home runs, it’s now pretty clear
he won’t finish the season over 700, that’s for sure, and Aaron is
still at 755. Barry is tired, he’s continually admitting as much,
and the last 100 dingers are far from a lock.
[And we don’t mind seeing Sammy Sosa on the DL. Steroids are
catching up to him as well.]
–Sherpa Pemba Dorjee scaled Mount Everest in 8 hours 10
minutes on Friday (from the 17,380-ft. base camp), smashing the
record by about two hours. Of course around here we have a
fondness for sherpas, they being former yak herders.
–A week or so ago I mentioned a new book titled “The Bad
Guys Won!” by Jeff Pearlman. It chronicles the 1986 World
Champion New York Mets and their amazing off-the-field antics.
Well, I’ve got to tell ya, this is the ultimate summer book for any
baseball fan. I’ve only read 30+ pages thus far but some of it has
been laugh out loud funny. Pearlman is a terrific writer. This
Sunday, the guy who reviewed it for the Star-Ledger added it’s
not only a great sports book but also “good beach smut.”
–I have to catch up on a few things. After blasting Kevin
Garnett for his incredibly stupid remarks during the Minnesota –
Sacramento series, I do have to admit he stepped up in a huge
way in Game 7.
Conversely, there was the Nets’ Jason Kidd, pulling off one of
the all-time choke jobs in going scoreless in New Jersey’s Game
7 loss to Detroit. Boooooo……Booooooo……
–Congratulations to 12-year-old Malcolm Locke for fending off
the 7-foot alligator in Florida. The gator clamped down on
Malcolm’s head, which would have kind of freaked me out,
frankly, but the kid had the presence of mind to punch the beast,
at which point it let go and Malcolm was able to swim away.
–A female acrobat for Ringling Bros. plunged to her death
during a Saturday performance in St. Paul, MN; the first such
accident for the circus in over 10 years.
Top 3 songs for the week of 5/22/71: #1 “Joy To The World”
(Three Dog Night) #2 “Never Can Say Goodbye” (The Jackson
5) #3 “Brown Sugar” (The Rolling Stones)
Cleveland Indians Quiz Answers: 1) The Indians last won the
Series in 1948. The only other title was in 1920. 2) MVPs: Lou
Boudreau, SS, 1948 (also player-manager); Al Rosen, 3B, 1953.
3) Only Cy Young winner: Gaylord Perry, 1972. 4) Last 20-
game winner: Gaylord Perry, 1974. 5) 160 RBI in a season:
Manny Ramirez, 165, 1999; Hal Trosky, 162, 1936. [Trosky hit
228 homers and drove in 1,012 to go along with a .302 batting
average in his career.] 6) No-hitters: Sonny Siebert, 1966; Dick
Bosman, 1974. 7) 200-game winners: Bob Feller (266-162),
Mel Harder (223-186), Bob Lemon (207-128). [Lemon was an
outstanding hitter, clubbing 37 home runs in his career while
batting .232.]
Next Bar Chat, Thursday…Memorial Day / Oliver Wendell
Holmes.
