Baseball Quiz: Name the 9 catchers in MLB history who drove
in 1,000 runs. Alright, I’ll give you one to avoid any confusion,
Mike Piazza, who thru this weekend had 1,015. Name the other
8…and we aren’t being picky as far as ribbies when the player
wasn’t behind the plate. Answer below.
Sports for $40
World Cup: Geezuz, I wish I had hopped on the U.S.A. train
earlier. Oh well. But did you catch the Ireland – Spain match
Sunday morning? The luck of the Irish was nowhere to be
found, as they blew some golden opportunities. Or as coach
Mick McCarthy said afterwards, “I’m going to drown me
sorrows.”
But if you are a member of the South Korean squad, for
advancing to the second round, the Defense Ministry is granting
the players an exemption from the 26-months mandatory military
service.
Now how great would it be if Senegal won it all?
U.S. Open
Alright. Here are the two scenarios we can hope for the rest of
the year. First, from a sports history standpoint, Tiger winning
the Slam, in its purest form, would be spectacular. Second, if he
doesn’t, though, it would be awesome for Mickelson to defeat
him on the 72nd hole of the PGA, so this is what we really hope
for.
Also, I’m a Tiger fan, but I watched his whole press conference
last night on the Golf Channel and he has to lighten up a bit.
Yeah, he’s tired of answering the same moronic questions over
and over again, but he needs to appreciate the huge role these
scribes have played in the making of Tigermania.
And here’s to the old farts. Four of them, Nick Faldo, Nick
Price, Scott Hoch and Jay Haas, all between 44- and 48-years-
old, finished in the Top 15, thus earning exemptions for next
year.
As for Hoch, I mentioned in this space back in April that he was
having problems with his LASIK eye surgery (three different
procedures), but he did say after his round yesterday that things
seemed to be better. He also had his 27th career ace. And
Johnny Mac had a good description of Hoch and his penchant for
cashing big checks. “He’s like a stretch horse, picking off the
tiring nags ahead of him.”
Top Ten Things To Do While Sergio Garcia Is Waggling
10. Clean out the garage.
9. Start a stamp collection.
8. Visit the neighbors.
7. Cut the lawn.
6. Take a piano lesson.
5. Write your memoirs.
4. Explore the universe.
3. Whittle a bust of Mount Rushmore.
2. Work on a 401(k) repair strategy.
1. Run out for another six-pack!
Animal Chat
–Back to horses, I was reading the local racing column on
Sunday (I’m normally not that huge a fan) and the writer, Ray
Brienza, noted that the father of the last 20 years has to be ‘No
Nukes.’
Now 23, No Nukes is the most successful living sire, with some
1,800 offspring who have collectively earned over $111 million
in purses. No Nukes commands a fee of $7,500 plus for his
services and even this year, at his advanced age, he has been bred
to 129 mares. Now discuss amongst yourselves.
–Toad Talk: Last week I had an item concerning the deadly cane
toad of Australia. Well, Harry K., Mr. Animal Chat around here,
passed along some further information.
For starters, I didn’t realize that cane toads are becoming an
increasing problem in Florida, another instance of them being
imported where they don’t belong. And these truly are nasty
creatures, as they eat their young.
Actually, as noted earlier, they eat anything, but they are often
found gathered under street lamps, munching on insects attracted
by the light.
I mentioned last week that the original batch of 100 toads that
were shipped to Australia in 1935 had grown to 60,000 just six
months later. But did you know…ahem…that a female cane
toad can produce up to 30,000 eggs a month?! Or that male toads
will attempt to mate with anything resembling a female toad,
living or dead? Which means it should really be called the
Horny Cane Toad, or HCT.
As for the venom, it can be found all over the body. Any animal
picking one up receives a lethal dose and is normally dead within
15 minutes. You’ve been warned.
Baseball Bits
–By the time you read this it could be over, but not for nothing,
Florida’s Luis Castillo has a 31-game hitting streak, tied for the
longest since 1987 when Paul Molitor was successful in 39
straight. Castillo, hitting .330 on the year, is a good little
ballplayer, having hit .334 as recently as 2000.
–Sports Illustrated had a piece on the Braves’ Tom Glavine and I
must say I had forgotten just how great this future Hall of
Famer’s career has been. After losing Sunday, he is 235-135
lifetime, 100 over .500. He also has five, 20-win seasons
compared to Greg Maddux’s two. [Maddux has won 19 five
times.]
–I forgot to bring this up last week, but when the Yankees
Marques Thames hit the first pitch he ever saw in the major
leagues for a home run (against Randy Johnson, to boot), he
joined 16 others who have accomplished the feat (8 in each
league).
But only two in baseball history have homered in their first two
plate appearances; Keith McDonald, who did it for St. Louis in
2000 (and isn’t in the majors right now, as far as I can tell) and
Bob Nieman, while with the St. Louis Browns in 1951.
Now I’m always fascinated by stats for a player like Neiman and
he did go on to have a respectable career, finishing with 125
home runs, 544 RBI and a solid .295 batting average.
But in looking at the 1951 St. Louis squad, there was a 22-year-
old shortstop, Bud Thomas, who made his major league debut
and went 7 for 20, a cool .350. That was it. Never appeared in
another game! So what happened? Thomas is still alive, as far as
I can tell. Come in, Bud…I want to hear your story.
–If you followed baseball in the 60s and early 70s, one of your
favorites had to be pinch-hitter deluxe, Gates Brown. Brown
homered in his first major league at bat.
–In glancing through the record book, guess who holds the major
league record for most consecutive games with at least one RBI
at 17? Sorry, I knew you wouldn’t get it…Oscar Grimes, 1922,
Chicago Cubs (27 total in the stretch). Mike Sweeney of the
Kansas City Royals actually shares the A.L. record at 13
consecutive games.
–The New York Yankees have 106 home runs in their first 69
games, a pace of 249 for the full season. The major league
record is Seattle with 264 in 1997. [Griffey, 56; Jay Buhner, 40;
Paul Sorrento, 31; Edgar Martinez, 28; Alex Rodriguez, 23; Russ
Davis, 20.]
–Gotta love those inter-league rivalries. On Friday night, the
Montreal Expos drew 7,500 for their huge match-up with
Toronto. All of Canada was buzzing.
Stuff
–Peter Genovese wrote a piece for the Star-Ledger here in New
Jersey concerning “tipping.” Among the perennially bad tippers,
according to informed sources, are Jesse Jackson, Tiger Woods,
Al Gore, and Siegfried and Roy. Regarding the latter, I imagine
it’s always something like the following.
“I thought you were leaving it.”
“But I thought you did!”
David Letterman is one of the better tippers.
One experienced waitress had the following comment.
“I worked at a bar where the Dallas Cowboys frequented. I had
carried out five trays of food for three of them that were eating.
Got them countless drinks and I got three dollars. Cheap
bastards!”
Now here are some tips for those of you waiting tables. Says one
researcher, “It’s not considered typical male behavior to draw
smiley faces on the backs of checks.”
But, a good way to get a bigger tip is to hand out a piece of
miniature chocolate with the check, then, before you walk away,
leave another one. Experts say it works every time.
–Now here’s a nice story. Jaime Guerrero, a used-car salesman,
spotted some junk in a vacant lot in Camden, NJ earlier this year
and he decided to take a peek since he was looking for a desk.
Instead, he found an INS file cabinet, which, as part of a move
back in Newark, had been discarded and hauled away by the
carting company.
Inside were hundreds of blank certificates of United States
citizenship, awarded only to immigrants who meet certain
requirements. They can be used to get a driver’s license,
passport, and even to obtain flight training.
As a report by Douglas Pasternak in U.S. News had it, not only
was this a treasure-trove for would-be terrorists, but Guerrero, a
Mexican immigrant who has lived in the U.S. since 1989, had
recently applied for citizenship. Guerrero returned the
certificates, saying, “I thought it was the right thing to do.” He
may not have the papers yet, but he’s a great American in my
book already.
Oldies But Goodies
[Yes, folks, your editor is biased towards 1960s and 1970s
music, so, in an effort to broaden the base, I hereby begin to
present some tidbits from the 1940-54 era.]
–Anthony Dominick Benedetto, a k a Tony Bennett, had his first
#1, “Because Of You,” in the summer of 1951. A month later he
scored another chart-topper with “Cold, Cold Heart.”
–Mel Blanc’s “Woody Woodpecker” was a #2 Billboard smash
in 1948.
–Nat King Cole’s first #1 was “(I Love You) For Sentimental
Reasons,” 1946. His first Top Ten was the 1944 tune,
“Straighten Up And Fly Right,” which peaked at #9.
–Vito Farinola, a k a Vic Damone, had a #1 single in 1949,
“You’re Breaking My Heart.”
–And the following tunes all hit #1 in 1940.
“In The Mood” (Glenn Miller)
“Frenesi” (Artie Shaw)
“I’ll Never Smile Again” (Tommy Dorsey – Frank Sinatra)
“Only Forever” (Bing Crosby)
“Tuxedo Junction” (Glenn Miller)
“Scatter-Brain” (Frankie Masters)
“The Woodpecker Song” (Glenn Miller – Marion Hutton)
[Y’all loved your woodpeckers back then, didn’t you?]
“South Of The Border” (Shep Fields – Hal Derwin)
“Sierra Sue” (Bing Crosby)
“Make-Believe Island” (Mitchell Ayres – Mary Ann Mercer)
“Where Was I?” (Charlie Barnett – Mary Ann McCall)
“The Breeze And I” (Jimmy Dorsey – Bob Eberly)
[Source: Joel Whitburn, “Pop Hits: 1940-54”]
Top Radio Programs in 1940: Jack Benny, The Chase and
Sanborn Hour, Fibber McGee and Molly, The Shadow and The
Lone Ranger. [Radios were now in 30 million homes.]
Books of the year…and what a great one it was. Ernest
Hemingway’s ‘For Whom the Bell Tolls,’ John Steinbeck’s ‘Of
Mice and Men,’ and Richard Wright’s ‘Native Son.’
The Dow Jones traded in a range of 111-152 in 1940.
Wilbur Shaw won the Indy 500 with an average speed of 114
mph.
The Chicago Bears defeated the Washington Redskins for the
NFL championship, 73-0.
And how about this…in keeping with today’s atmosphere.
June 28, 1940. The Alien Registration Act, also known as the
Smith Act, was passed by Congress. Signed by FDR, this
required the registration and fingerprinting of aliens and made it
unlawful to belong to any organization advocating overthrow of
the U.S. government. So what are some people complaining
about today?
Top 3 songs for the week of 6/20/70: #1 “The Long And
Winding Road” (The Beatles) #2 “The Love You Save” (The
Jackson 5) #3 “Which Way You Goin’ Billy” (The Poppy
Family)
Baseball Quiz Answer: Catchers with 1,000+ RBI…
Johnny Bench – 1,376
Yogi Berra – 1,430
Gary Carter – 1,125
Bill Dickey – 1,209
Carlton Fisk – 1,386
Gaby Hartnett – 1,179
Lance Parrish – 1,070
Mike Piazza – 1,015 (thru 6/16)
Ted Simmons – 1,389…talk about underrated.
[Thanks for the idea, Rod.]
Next Bar Chat, Thursday.
